ST Budget Feature

U.S. Government
Fiscal Year 2011 Budget

In President Barack Obama's budget message to Congress on February 1, he stressed that his administration had formulated the fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request with an eye to both fiscal responsibility and promoting economic recovery.

'Even as we increased our short-term deficit to rescue the economy, we have refused to go along with business as usual, taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, eliminating what we don't need and making the programs we do need more efficient,' the president said. 'The budget includes more than 120 programs for termination, reduction or other savings for a total of approximately $23 billion in 2011, as well as an aggressive effort to reduce the tens of billions of dollars in improper government payments made each year.'

In addition to cutting unnecessary or inefficient programs, Obama asserted that the programs the FY 2011 budget did fund would help to bring the country out of recession.

'This budget includes plans to encourage small businesses to hire as quickly and effectively as possible, to make additional investments in infrastructure and to jump-start clean energy investments that will help the private sector create good jobs in America,' Obama said in his statement.

The following article outlines the FY 2011 budget requests for ocean-related government programs.

This is an increase of about 3.4 percent, or 1.8 percent real growth after adjusting for inflation, from FY 2010, where a $531 billion base budget and $164 billion OCO budget were requested.

Over the period from FY 2010 to FY 2015, base growth will be three percent and real growth one percent.

The FY 2011 budget focuses on today's wars while investing for current and future conflicts, according to DOD officials. The requirements of the quadrennial defense review are implemented in the budget, and it continues the reform agenda and continues and enhances the FY 2010 program of taking care of its people in regard to pay, allowances and health care, they continued.

The FY 2011 budget rebalances the forces. Selected paradigm highlights include: increased funding for pilot training and survivability of rotary wing aircraft, with plans to train 1,500 new pilots by 2012; $9.6 billion in funding to sustain the acquisition and modernization of helicopters, more than six percent above the FY 2010 level; $2.2 billion to expand the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) combat air patrols (CAPs), increasing Predator-class UAV CAPs from 37 to 65 by 2013; funding the acquisition of 12 EA-13G aircraft; additional funds to increase the number of special forces by about 2,800 personnel; funding to establish U.S. Cyber Command, which will organize and standardize DOD cyber practices to defend the global information grid, the department said; $864 million in research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) for developing the next-generation tanker, calling for procuring 179 commercial-derivative aircraft to replace about one-third of the existing fleet of tankers; funding for 42 joint strike fighters (JSFs); $1.7 billion over the period FY 2011 to FY 2015 for the next-generation bomber; $9.9 billion for missile defense, using the phased adaptive array approach, shifting away from the ground-based system originally planned for Europe and instead focusing on a land and sea-based Standard Missile 3 system; funding to procure 10 ships'nine for the U.S. Navy and one for the U.S. Army; continued investment in the next-generation ballistic missile submarine (SSBN); and $49.6 billion to strengthen the Reserves, who the DOD says it will now use, along with the National Guard, as operational reserves.

U.S. Navy
The Navy's FY 2011 base budget is $160.6 billion, up from $155.8 billion in FY 2010. With $18.5 billion for OCO, the total Navy budget request is $179.1 billion.

The Navy has 142 ships under way away from home ports: 38 percent are deployed.

Current Navy end strength is 329,845, plus 11,121 active reservists and 6,988 activated reservists: 51,722 are deployed afloat and 12,162 are deployed ashore in the two wars.

In FY 2011, the Navy will commission seven ships: three guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), one SSN, one transport dock ship (LPD) and two cargo/ammunition ships. The Navy will also deactivate 10 ships: three ammunition ships, one amphibious assault ship, three frigates, one SSN and two LPDs.

In the period FY 2011 through FY 2015, the Navy plans to procure 50 ships: one CVN-21, 10 SSN-774s, eight DDG-51s, 17 LCSs, one LPD-17, one LHA(R), one fleet ocean tug, three MLPs and eight JHSVs.

The next-generation cruiser program was cancelled because of affordability problems, the Navy said. The service is considering options including maturing its air and missile-defense-radar program and using technologies from other kinds of ships, such as the DDG-1000 and the DDG-51 destroyers, officials said.

The budget funds the modernization of the sixth CG-47 guided-missile cruiser and three DDG-51 destroyers. The modernization will extend the service life of these ships to 35 years.

Three landing craft air-cushion vehicles (LCACs) will be given service-life extensions, and the FY 2011 budget has RDT&E funds for the ship-to-shore connector lead ship, the successor to the LCAC.

RDT&E funds are budgeted for the three DDG-1000 ships under construction. RDT&E also funds the qualification and testing of the long-range-attack projectile and the advanced gun system.

The DHS requested $8.5 billion in funding for the U.S. Coast Guard, of which $1.4 billion supports continued recapitalization of the service's vessels and aircraft. Recapitalization requests include $538 million for the fifth national security cutter, $240 million for four fast response cutters, $45 million to fund design selection for the offshore patrol cutter and $40 million for one maritime patrol aircraft.

The budget also seeks a $3.6 million increase for Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment teams.

A budget request of $36 million will fund further deployment of the Rescue 21 system, the Coast Guard's primary communications, command and control system for all inland and coastal zone missions, which is replacing the National Distress and Response System.

The budget also requests $8 million for DHS programs designed to quickly scan incoming cargo containers for weapons of mass destruction, explosives, contraband and human cargo.

Maritime Administration
The FY 2011 budget request for the Maritime Administration dropped three percent to $352 million. Of that, $164.4 million is for operations and training, an increase of $14.6 million. Budget requests for the administration's Maritime Security Program is the same as last year's budget at $174 million.

Requested funding for the Ship Disposal Program dropped to $10 million this year from $15 million awarded last year because the program has a high level of unobligated carry-over balances.

The largest budget request increase in the $100 million requested for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is $30.9 million for capital improvements.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program's FY 2011 budget request focuses on the three main water resources missions of the Corps: commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration, according to officials.

The budget provides $4.94 billion in gross discretionary funding for the Civil Works program, offset in part by a proposal to cancel $52 million of prior year funding. Additional sources of funding for the FY 2011 program are estimated at $499 million, including $400 million in cash provided by nonfederal cost-sharing partners.

The budget funds two new high-priority construction projects in Louisiana and Texas and includes $10 million for a Global Change Sustainability program to assess the impacts of climate change and identify operational and other modifications to anticipate and respond to it, officials said.

The budget focuses on ongoing ecosystem restoration efforts that cost effectively provide high-quality, reliable and sustainable long-term solutions that restore the environmental integrity and sustainability of affected ecosystems, while eliminating funding for many projects that have a low economic or environmental return or that duplicate programs in other agencies, officials continued.

More than $2 billion of the NOAA budget funds the development and acquisition of satellites, which will monitor, among other things, changes in weather, climate and sea level. Included in the budget is $62.5 million to continue the development of the Geostationary Operational Environmen-tal Satellite-R series and $678.6 million for the next generation of polar satellites.

NOAA requests increased funding for programs that support coastal zone management and marine spatial planning, including $20 million for regional ocean partnerships, $10 million to acquire and protect coastal lands, $9.5 million to develop marine sensors and $6.8 million for coastal and marine spatial planning efforts.

For fisheries, NOAA proposes increases of $36.6 million to implement and expand catch share programs, $20 million for the Species Recovery Grant Program and community-based restoration projects, and $15 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.

Further NOAA funding requests include a $10 million increase to produce climate assessments at national and regional scales, a $6.1 million increase for ocean acidification research and monitoring, and an additional $22.8 million for resource observations and modeling capabilities.

National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) FY 2011 budget request is $7.42 billion, an increase of $552 million (eight percent) over the 2010 level.

The budget provides $766 million, an increase of $105 million over comparable 2010 levels, for a new effort at NSF to support multidisciplinary energy and climate research. This new cross-agency effort is an integrated approach to increasing U.S. energy independence, enhancing environmental stewardship, reducing energy and carbon intensity, and generating sustained economic growth, officials said.

Furthermore, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, NSF will dedicate at least five percent of its undergraduate and graduate fellowship, scholarship and traineeship programs, roughly $19 million in 2011, to students pursuing clean energy careers.

Minerals Management Service
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has requested a five percent increase in funding for the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to $189.9 million. As part of the FY 2011 budget, MMS plans a number of programs to increase fees and royalties on oil, natural gas and other mineral development, including new user fees for processing oil and gas drilling permits.

Other proposed fees would pay for inspecting drilling operations in federal offshore areas.

MMS has requested a $2.2 million increase for the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management Renewable Energy Program to $200 million, which will fund the administration of new mineral and renewable energy leases, environmental assessments, pipeline rights-of-way studies and safety inspections.

Within the Leasing and Environmental Program, MMS proposes cuts of $2 million for environmental studies and further spending cuts of $0.8 million, savings that will pay for $1 million increases in both renewable energy and marine spatial planning, along with $0.8 million to ensure safe operations and fair market value payments.

The MMS budget request includes $10.5 million to ensure compliance and proper payment of royalties, along with the transition to royalty-in-value payments (royalty-in-kind is being discontinued).

The budget assumes royalty reform will collect $1 billion in new royalties over the next 10 years.

MMS has also requested a $24 million increase to establish a new Renewable Energy Office in the Atlantic region, which would focus on developing wind resources.

U.S. Geological Survey
The DOI has requested $1.1 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in FY 2011, a two percent increase.

The budget includes a $3 million increase that will fund studies to assess how land-based and offshore wind energy will impact wildlife, which will be developed into a nationwide assessment methodology.

The budget proposes a $4 million program increase for marine spatial planning and geospatial modernization, which will be conducted with the MMS. Another proposed increase is $11 million for climate change science activities, including $1 million to support DOI bureaus, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service, in coping with a changing climate.

The USGS also requested $83.3 million for geologic resource assessments, which it said will help the agency better understand the fundamental processes that lead to the accumulation of mineral and energy resources.

NASA
The president's FY 2011 NASA budget request adds $6 billion over five years compared with the 2010 budget, a total of $100 billion through 2015.

The adminstration requests an Earth and climate science budget increase of $382 million over the FY 2010 enacted budget and $1.8 billion from FY 2011 through 2014. It includes funding for developing and flying a replacement Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a mission designed to identify carbon sources and sinks; accelerating the development of new satellites to enhance observations of the climate and other Earth systems; enhancing climate change modeling capabilities to enhance forecasts of regional and other effects; operating 15 Earth-observing spacecraft in orbit; and launching the missions Glory, the National Polar-Orbiting Opera-tional Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project and Aquarius, which will provide the first-ever global maps of salt concentrations on the ocean surface.

NASA also requests an increase of $20 million for its base education program to fund initiatives to inspire students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math careers.

The budget requests $43.5 million in new funding for regulatory efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and $21 million'an increase of $4 million from 2010 enacted levels'to implement the Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule.

The budget also includes funding for ecosystem restoration efforts, with $300 million for the Great Lakes focusing on issues such as contaminated sediments, nonpoint source pollution, habitat degradation and loss, and invasive species; $17 million in new funding for the Mississippi River Basin; and an increase of $13 million for Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.

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